Charade (Heven & Hell)

by Cambria Hebert

  “I’ll take a scoop of Moose Tracks,” Kimber said, coming to stand at the counter.

  I looked over at Cole, but he wasn’t paying me any attention. He was picking up the trash-littered floor. “You don’t have to do that Cole.”

  He shoved a handful of trash in a nearby wastebasket and straightened, our eyes meeting for the first time that day. He was such a great guy. “It’s no big.” He smiled.

  I smiled back, then went to work scooping out Kimber’s ice cream and handing it over. Then I looked at Cole, lifting a brow. “Peanut Butter cup.” He pointed to the flavor he wanted.

  I scooped out a huge cupful and then added a drizzle of caramel to the top. It was the way he always got it. “Thanks, Hev,” he said around a huge mouthful.

  “So what are you guys up to today?” I asked, turning away to begin the dreaded cleaning of the milkshake machine.

  “Shopping,” Kimber answered. “My wardrobe for Italy is completely lacking.”

  The mention of the trip made my stomach go tight. I still wasn’t even sure I was going to be able to go. I had to go. Returning the Treasure Map to its rightful place was the only way Sam or I would get any peace. I pushed away my thoughts and worked to make my voice as light as possible. “The trip isn’t for a few weeks yet and already you’re shopping?”

  “A good wardrobe takes planning,” Kimber said, exasperated.

  “Did you get your mom to sign the permission slip yet?” Cole asked.

  “Not yet,” I hedged. “But I will this week.” I had to. Mrs. Britt told me if I didn’t get it signed by the end of the week, she couldn’t hold my spot any longer. I felt the first tingling of panic curl through my belly and stifled the urge to groan. I thought I was past this panic stuff. You are stronger than this! I yelled at myself. Still, the thought of Sam flying off to Rome with the scroll and without me made my heart race. Sam could get hurt, the scroll could get taken, and then… people would die.

  “Heven?” Cole spoke from behind me.

  I spun around, the warm soapy water in the tumbler spilled over onto my sneakers. “Sorry, I was just thinking.”

  “You okay?” he asked, concern darkening his brilliant blue eyes, eyes that seemed to see too much these days.

  “Sure,” I lied, forcing a smile and looked around him at Kimber. “Heading into Portland to shop?”

  “Of course, so we better get going.” Her aura was huge and bright, the colors always bursting around her erratically. Sometimes it was hard to focus when she was around; it was so distracting.

  “Sure. Thanks for coming by.” I took a deep breath and realized that I had managed to calm myself down. Way to go! I was so much stronger than I used to be and it made me proud of myself.

  To my relief, Cole moved off to stand at Kimber’s side. His aura was a lot less intense than Kimber’s, but it was still distracting. Why was his different than everyone else’s? Before going out the door, he fished a five-dollar bill out of his pocket.

  “It’s free,” I reminded him of our free ice cream deal.

  “I know,” he said, sticking the five into the half-empty tip jar.

  I opened my mouth to respond, but my vision clouded with red. Kimber’s aura was practically exploding with jealousy. Not again.

  “That isn’t necessary,” I told Cole, hoping he would take the hint and take his money back.

  “You give us free ice cream all the time. It’s the least I can do,” he said.

  My shoulders slumped while Kimber glared between us. Didn’t he see that Kimber was seething?

  “Well, have fun you two,” I said, choosing to ignore the situation and went back to the milkshake machine.

  The doorbell rang behind them and I let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness they were gone.

  How much ice cream have you eaten today? Sam’s voice floated through my head. Did you save me some?

  Sorry, chocolate’s all gone. I teased, smiling.

  Guess I’ll have to get my ice cream somewhere else, then. He made a dramatic sound and I laughed out loud. Good thing I was here alone or people might think I was crazy.

  All right then. I guess I will have to find another way home from work. There was this guy in here earlier that left his number in the tip jar…

  A growl vibrated my brain and I laughed again. Leave it to a hellhound to figure out how to growl in someone’s head.

  Down, boy. I’m only kidding.

  Just for that when I get there I am ordering a large milkshake.

  I call a truce! I was NOT making any more milkshakes today. Ugh.

  Truce, then. I’ll see you in a bit.

  I glanced at the clock and willed the next two hours to pass quickly.

  * * *

  Ten minutes left until my shift ended and Sam still wasn’t there. Usually by now, he was, but Logan called and asked him to pick him up so he could get some ice cream, too. So instead of being here, he was on his way to get Logan. After spending all night with him. We hardly even had a moment alone this morning when I brought breakfast over. I sighed, I didn’t like feeling jealous and I realized that I was being stupid. It wasn’t that I minded Sam spending time with someone else; he needed a life outside of me. I just didn’t trust Logan. No matter how hard I tried. But he is the only family Sam had and I was going to keep supporting their relationship no matter how hard it was (or until something happened to prove I had a reason to not trust him). I wondered how much longer I was going to be able to hide my feelings about Logan from Sam.

  Besides, I wanted to like Logan and I wanted us to get along. I knew he was having a hard time with everything that’s happened to him and what it was like to feel lost in your own skin, to see a stranger in the mirror. Heck, some mornings I still looked in the mirror and was surprised with what I saw. I had gotten used to my scars, had learned to accept them, and now they were gone. I think I could be a help to him if only he wouldn’t look at me the way he sometimes did when Sam wasn’t looking.

  I thought back to the day that Logan had showed up at Sam’s old apartment. Sam was outside loading the last of his moving boxes in the truck while I ran back inside to grab one last, forgotten box. Logan appeared in front of me, with a not-so-friendly look on his face. He seemed to enjoy my fear and even took a menacing step toward me. I often wondered what he would have done if Sam hadn’t come in the door behind him. From then on, he was the kid brother who worshipped Sam and emulated everything his big brother did. He always treated me like a friend, if not a distant friend. But he always managed to worm his way between Sam and I. Whenever Sam touched or kissed me Logan had an “Ewww gross,” or a “Sam, can you help me?” that always drew Sam’s attention from me. I understood that Logan was only fourteen and that his life was destroyed the day he turned into a hellhound and he ran away, but sometimes, it felt like Logan liked getting between us.

  The doorbell rang and I turned, knowing it wasn’t Sam, but hoping to see my replacement behind the counter.

  It was Cole, followed by a dark-headed woman.

  “I thought you were going shopping with Kimber.”

  Cole made a face and then pulled the woman forward. “Shopping isn’t my idea of a good time. Thought I’d bring my mom for some ice cream. She loves the raspberry chip here.”

  I studied his mother, someone who, amazingly, I’d never met before. She was beautiful. She looked younger than I knew she had to be and had shoulder-length hair the same dark shade as Cole’s. She was shorter than him, thin and dressed nicely, but comfortably, in cropped jeans and a sleeveless blue sweater. Her eyes were not blue like Cole’s, but brown and warm.

  “A scoop of raspberry chip coming right up.” I smiled at her before turning to the cooler to scoop out her ice cream.

  “Is this a friend of yours from school, Cole?” his mother asked him.

  “I’ve told you about her, Mom. This is Heven.”

  As he spoke, I reached out to hand the ice cream to his mother. Cole’s mother looked at me, something in her
eyes going cold. At the same time, her aura burst with an ugly mustard color with tendrils of brown. It was completely startling because when she first walked in her aura was serene in mostly colors of blue and green. In fact, her aura didn’t change until Cole told her my name.

  “This is your friend, Heven?” his mother asked, low, her hand going up to her throat.

  “Yeah,” he said, reaching to take the ice cream I was still holding out. He gave me a small smile before turning to her. His aura, usually full of pure, crystal-clear colors was disrupted by an ugly shade of mustard, signaling he was worried. Clearly, he noticed his mother’s odd reaction. “Here’s your ice cream,” he said, holding it out.

  His mother recoiled from the cup like it was poison and then looked up at me, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly. This woman did not like me.

  “It’s really nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Springer,” I said, not understanding why she was staring at me this way. It brought me back to when I had my scars and I felt like I should duck my head and hide.

  She opened her mouth to respond then closed it again.

  “Mom,” Cole prompted, his eyes sliding to me briefly before going back to his mother.

  “You know, honey, I don’t really feel like ice cream anymore. I think I will walk next door to the bakery and pick something up for dinner.”

  “O-okay,” Cole said, frowning.

  His mother pulled out her wallet to pay me for the ice cream and I said, “No charge.”

  Her eyes flew to my face and the color of mustard, of anger, bloomed around her again. “You don’t owe me anything. I’ll pay.”

  “Mom,” Cole said, alarmed.

  “But you don’t even want the ice cream,” I said, confused. Why did she dislike me so much?

  She put a few bills down on the counter and went to the door, calling Cole behind her. Cole gave me an apologetic look and then went after her.

  When they were gone, I leaned against the counter, exhausted. First, the place is practically mobbed by a crowd; then I get slammed by Kimber’s jealousy and now by Cole’s mother’s anger. What else could go wrong today?

  Knowing that Sam was probably almost here, I walked into the back to grab my bag from the break room. I couldn’t wait to be out of here. While I was in the back, I heard the door chime again and smiled. But then an unfamiliar feeling came over me. My smile fell away as I went out front cautiously.

  It wasn’t Sam.

  It wasn’t human either.

  The day had finally come. The day that Sam feared above all others.

  The day I would be forced to fight off a demon alone.

  Chapter Three

  Heven

  It stared at me without a word. Its eyes were a singular color—muddy brown. They had no depth, no emotion… no life. I felt a tremor work its way up my back. It was the first time one of these things had come here and I fooled myself into thinking I was safe at work.

  A small nervous laugh escaped me. It tilted its head like it was trying to understand me.

  “Go away,” I told it, bravely.

  It smiled, showing a crowded row of small pointy teeth. It reminded me of a shark. It was really grotesque because otherwise, it could pass for a human from a decent distance away. If you didn’t look too closely, you wouldn’t notice his pointed ears, craggy sallow skin and the fact that he only had four fingers on each hand. Unfortunately, I was close and noticed all these things. I could also see its snow-white aura.

  “I don’t have what you’re looking for,” I said, gripping the strap of my bag a little tighter.

  Sam, I need you.

  Heven?

  There’s a demon.

  Run!

  The demon was blocking the only exit to the place; running was not an option. I looked around for something I could use as a weapon. Too soon, the demon launched itself at me. I screamed and ran, coming up against the ice cream cooler. The demon jumped, landing right on top of the cooler. I grabbed up an ice cream scoop and chucked it at him. It bounced off its head, not even making it flinch. I rounded the corner of the cooler just as it reached out and caught my arm in a vice-like grip.

  Just that moment Cole walked through the door. “Heven, I just wanted…”

  “Cole! Run!” I struggled to get away, but the thing held on and let out a screech that rattled my eardrums.

  “What the hell is going on?” he roared and ran farther into the store. He picked up a chair and swung it at the demon. It was a good enough hit that it was forced to let me go and I lunged toward Cole.

  “Let’s go!” I yelled, pulling Cole’s hand. Cole thrust me behind him and advanced into the store. “Cole, no!” I shouted.

  The demon launched itself at him and they rolled. Cole was a good match in size for the thing, but it was stronger. Cole got in a solid punch to its head just before being tossed across the room to land behind the cooler.

  I ran forward to see if Cole was all right, but the demon jumped in front of me and grabbed the strap to my bag. “Get away from me!” I yelled and tugged hard. It backhanded me and I fell back, my bag not coming with me.

  Cole ran out from behind the counter, jumped on the demon’s back, and began punching at its head. It began making the same awful screeching noise as before. I jumped up and ran forward, grasping the broom lying nearby and swung it, hitting the thing in its side. It shrieked and Cole punched it again, causing it to stagger. I seized the moment, grasped my purse, and tugged; the contents of the bag spilled everywhere, and the scroll rolled to my feet. I picked it up and headed for the door, yelling for Cole to follow.

  The door to the shop flew open and Sam charged in, sweat lining his forehead.

  “Sam!” I rushed towards him.

  “Outside,” he growled and launched himself at Cole and the demon. They all went down in a tangle of limbs. Logan reached through the door and pulled me outside onto the sidewalk with him and we both stood there and watched as Sam straddled the demon and shoved his hand through its chest. It turned to dust, leaving a panting Sam and a speechless Cole lying on the floor.

  “What the hell was that thing?” Cole asked Sam. He was staring at him with awe.

  Sam ignored him and jumped up to stalk through the door toward me. “Heven?”

  “I’m all right.”

  Sam reached me and roughly grabbed the scroll out of my hands with a muffled curse and stuffed it into one of the many pockets in his cargo khaki pants. “I told you to run.”

  “I tried.”

  “Not hard enough.” His arms were shaking.

  Cole came up behind him. “You’re yelling at her?” His tone was incredulous. “Are you kidding me? That thing was trying to hurt her!” He turned to me, his eyes softening. “Why was it trying to hurt you? Are you okay?” His aura was a wreck and I closed my eyes to spare myself the visual overload. Well, that and the fact I didn’t like what was coming through all those colors.

  “We’re leaving,” Sam said, taking my hand.

  “I have to wait until my replacement gets here,” I said tightly, pulling my hand from his and went back inside and began picking up all the contents of my spilled bag off the floor. Sam followed with Cole close behind, flinging questions left and right.

  “What was that thing? How did you make it disappear like that? Have you ever seen it before?”

  Sam spun to face Cole. “What are you doing here?” Anger clear in his voice.

  “I came to see Heven.”

  “Stay away from Heven.”

  “It’s a good thing I was here or that thing would have hurt her.”

  Like a whip, jealousy and rage slapped over me. I was a little stunned at the intensity of Sam’s feelings. I shoved the remaining items in my bag and ran to Sam’s side. Please, Sam, calm down. Don’t do this. Not here. Not now.

  “Cole, please,” I begged.

  Cole glanced at me. “What the hell is going on?”

  “We’ll explain everything,” I told him.

  Hev
en, you know we can’t.

  I ignored Sam’s voice in my head to say to Cole, “But not here, not now.”

  He looked mutinous as I hurried to right the overturned chairs and pick up the mess the demon caused. He was about to start questioning us again as my replacement came in, and we all quickly switched into fake, happy versions of ourselves. Minutes later, we were all on the sidewalk, relieved to be out of the place. Sam wrapped his arm around my waist and drew me into his side. It felt good to be there. Safe. But it also felt gross. I reached into my jumbled purse and pulled out some yummy-smelling hand sanitizer and held it out to Sam.

  “Do you know where your hand just was?”

  He looked at me like I had lost my mind, but then he held out his hand.

  I gave him extra.

  “This is so unmanly.” He grumbled as he rubbed his hands together. I ignored him.

  “We’re alone now,” Cole said, his eyes meeting mine. Sam stiffened and I felt his muscles ripple. I hooked my arms around Sam’s waist, anchoring myself even closer and focused on Cole.

  “Later, okay?”

  “This is because of him, isn’t it?” he said, tossing a look to Sam.

  “No!” I gasped.

  “I told you he wasn’t good for you.”

  “Cole!” I demanded. “We’re friends, but you don’t get to talk to Sam like that. Not ever.”

  “Cole?” From down the sidewalk his mother called for him. He turned and I caught a look at her. She pretended I wasn’t even there.

  She hates me. I told Sam.

  Who is that?

  Cole’s mother.

  “Let’s go,” Sam said, ushering me away, his body blocking most of mine from view.

  “I’ll call you later,” Cole called to me.

  “Don’t bother,” Sam growled.

  In the truck, I was sandwiched between Sam and Logan.

  Sam took a moment to rev the truck’s engine and stare out the windshield before turning to look at me. “You’re bleeding,” he said stiffly.

  “I am?” I became aware of a sharp stinging in my cheek. I reached up to touch the cut and my fingers came away red. “Oh.” I guess that explained why my replacement kept looking at me funny.